Tag Archives: identity

Reflecting on something we’d just seen on Cuban tv the other night about Jose Marti, my husband turned to me and asked who Canada’s national hero was. He caught me off guard, and I asked him if it was obligatory (like national flowers, or birds) that every nation even have a single designated national hero. He paused and said he guessed not, but that he just figured that, like Cuba, we had one. Since we don’t have the luxury of instant Google answers to all of life’s most perplexing questions from home in Havana, I logged into the Kiwix (offline Wikipedia) app on my cell phone. It’s in Spanish, so when I looked up “heroe”, part of the definition suggested that a hero’s qualities or features might include having lived in exile or been a martyr, among other things. Hmm, that didn’t really sound too Canadian to me. Not finding anything whatsoever about Canadian national heroes in my phone app (and suspecting maybe it was because I don’t have the á symbol on my cell phone to even properly spell Canadá en español), I told him I really didn’t know. Canada’s a relatively young country, unlike Cuba (unless, of course, you divide Cuba’s existence into colonial pre-Revolution and independent post-1959 Revolutionary terms, I suppose). I explained that we have the Order of Canada, which distinguishes citizens for their positive contributions to society in different spheres. “Established in 1967 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the Order of Canada is the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System, and recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.” But I highly doubted that any Order of Canada recipients had been singled out with “National Hero” status, such as Jose Marti has been in Cuba. As it turns out, The Order of Canada, established on the 100th anniversary of Canada’s creation, does indeed represent the highest level of distinction in our National Honors system. It can (God forbid) even be revoked, as has been the case just 7 times since its institution. When I told him our first Prime Minister was a bit of a drunk, that got the biggest laugh of the night.

I thought of people like Terry Fox, then flashed back to elementary school history classes with Mr. McAleer and historic figures like Louis Riel or Nellie McClung. Could they be the people Abel was asking me about? Pierre Trudeau was one of our most popular Primer Ministers for a long time. We have environmentalists like David Suzuki, the astronaut Chris Hatfield, Rick Hansen who championed causes for the disabled, there was Lester B. Pearson, cultural icons like Stompin’ Tom Conners, Margaret Atwood, Buffy Saint Marie, Anne Murray, Bryan Adams, Celine Dion or Gordon Lightfoot. Canadian comedians John Candy and Jim Carrey certainly achieved great international status in their careers. And who can forget Bob & Doug MacKenzie (just kidding). We have Wayne Gretzky, and he would have come high on the list for many of my contemporaries, exemplary in his sportsmanship. Nowadays there’s even Mike Holmes, a champion of consumer advocacy and proponent of quality workmanship in construction, a hero of the common Canadian laborer and consumer. There are many Canadians that my fellow compatriots can feel proud to count among our country’s distinguished citizens, even if not all even have obtained the Order of Canada to recognize them as such.

I suppose my Cuban husband was asking me about Canada’s national hero because presumably that should be someone who is admired for their courage, outstanding achievements, and noble qualities; and is someone who has made significant positive contributions to society’s development and growth, and represents the nation. He was looking to see what we as Canadians hold as our greatest values, compared to Cuba. To know our heroes is to know our collective values, history, and what makes our country great. Acknowledging our nation’s heroes is equivalent to the national identity – its history, heritage, and culture. So viva national heroes, be they just one or a multitude of diverse people who rise up, make us proud of our countries and inspire us to be better world citizens.

Wrapping up my musings for today, here’s a little Bob ‘n Doug-style Canadian humor for you based on current events, and shared from @MeanwhileinCanada1:
“Dear Neighbours,
We have kidnapped your bird. He’ll be safely returned to you on impeachment day. We believe this is in everyone’s best interest.
With love, Canada”